With continued emphasis on enhancing connectivity, highway development in the past year reached 12,439 km at a construction pace of 34 km per day. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) focused on accelerating road construction, developing multimodal logistics parks (MMLPs), improving road safety, adopting technology and switching to sustainable fuels and construction materials.
Indian Infrastructure takes a look at some of the key developments in the road sector over the past year…
Policy reforms
- In Union Budget 2024-25, allocation for the sector increased by 3 per cent to Rs 2.78 trillion. In order to enhance road connectivity, an outlay of Rs 260 billion has been proposed for four road projects: the Patna-Purnea expressway, the Buxar-Bhagalpur highway, the Bodhgaya-Rajgir-Vaishali-Darbhanga spurs and an additional two-lane bridge over river Ganga in Buxar, Bihar.
- Modifications have been made to the model concession agreement for the toll, operate, transfer (TOT) model and build, operate, transfer (toll) projects to boost private investments.
- The MoRTH shifted to a quality-cum-cost-based selection process to improve road safety and construction standards.
Monetisation moves
- Cumulatively, MoRTH’s road monetisation programme has surpassed Rs 1 trillion. During 2023-24, it raised Rs 403.14 billion.
- Of this, around Rs 159.68 billion was raised via the monetisation of four TOT bundles, approximately Rs 157 billion through the infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) route, and around Rs 86.46 billion through securitisation.
Progress under Bharatmala Pariyojana
- As of March 2024, around 26,425 km of national highways have been awarded, with almost 17,411 km of roads constructed. The total expenditure now stands at Rs 4.59 trillion.
- MMLPs in Jogighopa, Indore, Chennai, Bangalore, Nagpur and Jalna have been awarded. Additionally, as of May 2024, bids are currently live for MMLPs in Anantapur, Pune and Nashik.
Key project announcements and awards
- In May 2024, the Pune Outer Ring Road was awarded to Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited at an estimated cost of Rs 275.69 billion. Additionally, the Nagpur-Gondia Access Controlled Super Communication Expressway Project (Package NG 02) was awarded to Afcons Infrastructure Limited, with an estimated cost of Rs 284.90 billion.
- In March 2024, Roadway Solutions India Infra Limited secured two awards worth Rs 12.28 billion for Package VIII and Rs 8.21 billion for Package IX of the Vadodara-Mumbai Expressway Project.
- Key announced projects include the Chattergala Tunnel Project in Jammu & Kashmir, the regional ring road in Hyderabad, the Trichy Semi-Ring Road Project in Tamil Nadu and a four-lane coastal highway in Odisha.
Key completed projects
- In a significant development, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana road connectivity project spanning 4.5 km and costing over Rs 36 million in Rajouri, Jammu & Kashmir, has been completed, providing connectivity to the area after 70 years.
- In June 2024, the Haji Ali-Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan northbound section of the Mumbai Coastal Road Project opened for traffic.
- As of May 2024, Nashik Municipal Smart City Development Corporation Limited has completed work on 179 major and minor roads in the city, spanning a total of 36 km at a cost of Rs 2.37 billion.
- In January 2024, Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (Atal Setu) spanning 21.80 km and costing Rs 178.43 billion was opened for public use.
- In October 2023, the Delhi-Vadodara expressway spanning 244.50 km, and costing about Rs 118.95 billion was inaugurated.
Key merger and acquisition deals
- In July 2024, Nxt-Infra Trust raised Rs 15.20 billion, with approximately Rs 13.89 billion allocated for the repayment of debt associated with the assets under the InvIT.
- In April 2024, Edelweiss Alternatives concluded the acquisition of L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Limited for Rs 60 billion.
- In March 2024, Ferrovial’s subsidiary Cintra acquired a 24 per cent stake in IRB Infrastructure Trust from GIC for Rs 65.90 billion. As part of this acquisition, Cintra also acquired a 24 per cent stake in MMK Toll Road Private Limited, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) asset under the trust’s portfolio. In March 2024, Highways Infrastructure Trust acquired 12 road projects from PNC Infratech and PNC Infra Holdings, valued at Rs 90.05 billion.
Other key developments
- Overall toll collection under NHAI reached Rs 548.11 billion.
- Project Vijayak in Ladakh successfully utilised the indigenous REJUPAVE road construction technology.
- IRB Infrastructure Developers achieved financial closure for its SPV project, IRB Lalitpur Tollway, worth Rs 35 billion.
- In January 2024, NITI Aayog inaugurated a 1 km-long steel slag road on the Panvel-Indapur stretch of the Mumbai-Goa section of NH-66 in Maharashtra.